1st Julián Simón 2.07.791 (14 laps)“I was able to make a step forward today because we solved the chattering problems we had in the...

1st Julián Simón 2.07.791 (14 laps)“I was able to make a step forward today because we solved the chattering problems we had in the MotoGP test. Having said that, the track was much dirtier today and there was more wind so the lap times have suffered. I’m happy with the progress we’ve made but we still have work to do. I need to decide which tyre to go with in the race – soft or hard – and then we’ll be all set. Personally I prefer the softer one but after fifteen laps on it today the bike was moving around a lot so we’ll have to try and work with the hard one tomorrow. I’m enjoying myself at the moment and I think that when you have the best material and the best team it is much easier to produce your best form.”

2nd Bradley Smith 2.08.823 (17 laps)“Unfortunately after the bad weather here recently the track was slippery so we spent the whole session trying to find a good feeling. I actually spent half an hour of the session out there without stopping, just getting laps in and trying to prepare for the race. The conditions here in the desert are really variable and we don’t know what we’ll get in the race so to spend so much time out there setting a good consistent pace is important. Julito’s time is very quick but our objective is to be up there and try and get close on the second day. It looks like we’re a step ahead of everybody else at the moment and I think it’s better that way – let’s keep it all inside the Bancaja box! My experience tells me that we can be up front in a lot of races this year and that’s what we’ll be fighting for. We got 95% of the set-up work done at the test so we just have small changes to make depending on the track conditions.”

5th Sergio Gadea 2.09.366 (15 laps)“I’m really happy to be up near the front again. It was a shame because we made a couple of changes that we hoped would gain us some time on the straights but we weren’t counting on the wind slowing us down so much. I know that if we can fix that then we’ll make up a second and move up the order. I’m satisfied because I felt comfortable despite the bad track conditions and I know we have plenty of room to improve. Every time I get on the Aprilia I feel more confident – we’re not at 100% yet but if we keep this up I’m sure we’ll soon be ready for battle.”